Battlestar Wiki:Standards and Conventions: Difference between revisions

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{{project|Standards and Conventions}}
{{project|Standards and Conventions|image=BSG WIKI SC.png|shortcut=BW:SC<br/>BW:SAC}}


This page serves as the central hub for standards used in writing articles on Battlestar Wiki. Initially, it will probably consist of a lot of gesturing and debating on the talk page. Once a reasonable approximation of consensus is achieved on a topic, information about it will be moved here. Feel free to bring up new convention questions on the talk page.
{{Battlestar Wiki Standards and Conventions}}


This page is '''not''' designed to supercede other [[:Category:Project Page|Project Page]]s. Some over-lap is expected, but project-specific standards and conventions should be moved to their project page, if one exists or a page created for a project, if one does not.
{{Battlestar Wiki List of Policies}}


==HTML vs. Wiki Code==
This page serves as the central hub for standards used in writing articles on Battlestar Wiki. Discussion on new or established standards and conventions listed in this section should be discussed on the [[Battlestar Wiki talk:Standards and Conventions|talk page]].
HTML is allowed to be used, but if you can, please use the Wiki code. Wiki code is faster and if everything is in Wikicode, everything can change if a format or style changes. Then we will not have to re-edit all the pages during a huge update.


==Spelling and Numbers==
This set of pages are '''not''' designed to supersede other [[Battlestar Wiki:Project List|project]]s or [[Battlestar Wiki:Policy|policies]]. Some overlap is expected, but project-specific standards and conventions should be moved to their project page, if one exists or a page created for a project, if one does not.
Prefer the American spellings of words as much as possible. This is arbitrary, but a call had to be made.


Use "the Twelve Colonies" or "the Colonies" rather than "the 12 Colonies" as it is the name of a sovereign government like "the United States." Likewise, "Colonial" should always be capitalized thusly, although "colony" remains uncapitalized for the same reason we do not capitalize "state" when referring to one of the United States.
== Overview ==


Numbers should use a period (.) for decimal places and a comma (,) for marking every three digits (e.g. 3,600 or 54,345,277). For ease of reading, such use of commas is encouraged. Numbers less than 11 should generally be written out long hand (i.e. seven, not 7).
Here is an overview of the standards and conventions sections.


==Character Names==
* [[/Formatting|Page Formatting]]: This covers our preferences on Wiki syntax over HTML, in addition to how to format images and categories.
Characters should be introduced with both '''first and last name''' the first time they are mentioned in an article. Subsequent referalls may abbreviate to the last name. Never use only the first name when the last name is known (ie, "Kara Thrace" or "Thrace", but never "Kara").
* [[/Prose|Article Prose and Grammar]]: Discusses our use of present tense for a majority of our articles, as well as how to properly format titles, using names vs. callsigns, etc.
* [[/Biographies|Cast and Crew Biographies]]: Covers how to write and format a biographical article on cast, crew, and people involved with the various series.
* [[/Episode Guides|Episode Guides]]: Tackles what an analysis and questions section of our episode guides should look like.
* [[/Disambiguations|Disambiguations]]: Tackles why those pesky little "(TOS)" and "(RDM)" suffixes are added to article names, as well as how to properly format a disambiguation page.
* [[/Quote of the Day|Quote of the Day pages]]: Tackles how to properly format a [[Battlestar Wiki:Quotes|quote page]] for the "Quote of the Day" feature.


There are two currently active characters who share the same last name:  Bill and Lee Adama; and Saul and Ellen Tigh.  It is often tempting to refer to Lee and Ellen by their first names, and (Bill) Adama and (Saul) Tigh by their last.  At the battlestar wiki, we find this somewhat condescending.
== Summary of Standards and Conventions ==


Where neccessary, characters sharing the same last name should both be introduced using full names, and may subsequently be referred to with first names.  For example, in a single article, [[Ellen Tigh]] and [[Saul Tigh]] should be introduced thusly. Every time after that, they should be Ellen and Saul, respectively.  When Saul and Ellen don't shown up in the same article, the one that does, of course, gets to be "Tigh".
This is the ''[[w:Cliff Notes|Cliff Notes]]'' version of our Standards and Conventions guidelines for your convenience. While they are explained in more detail in the subpages, most people will not want to use their time reading through them (despite the fact that we've made them as concise as possible).  Still, here we go...


The only exception is that on a character's own page, they have precedent to their last name. All others with the same last name may be referred to by their first name.
=== Formatting ===


Other acceptable means for disambiguation include rank (Commander Adama vs. Captain Adama) and callsign (Adama vs. "Apollo").  Callsigns are appropriate for summaries and military data, but not for biographies.
{{mainarticle|Battlestar Wiki:Standards and Conventions/Formatting}}


==Character Titles==
==== Markup ====
Members of the Quorum of Twelve should be referred to as delegates, not representatives. Although the show uses both terms, the "delegate" appears to be the formal title.


==Ships==
* Always use [[BW:MARKUP|Wiki code]] instead of HTML code, unless the Wiki code equivalent does not exist.
Ship names should be italicized (e.g. ''Galactica''). Military ships generally receive no article (i.e. "''Galactica''" not "the ''Galactica''") and civilian ships generally ''do'' receive an article (i.e. "the ''Rising Star''" not "''Rising Star''"). There are some exceptions to this (e.g. ''Colonial One'', ''Cloud 9'') – usually, ship names ending in a number do not receive an article. Italicization of ship names includes the possesive marker and other endings added to a ship's name (e.g. ''Galactica's'', not ''Galactica'''s), but not articles. Mostly, ships are female and so use of "she" and "her" is encouraged, though not mandated.
** '''''NEVER'' use:''' <nowiki><b> for bold face, <i> for italics, <a href> for links, <img> for images.</nowiki>
** '''Exception:''' There is presently no wiki code for underlining text, so one would use <nowiki><u></nowiki><u>text to be underlined</u><nowiki></u></nowiki>. Further, to center text on pages, you will have to use <nowiki><div align="center">text to be centered</div></nowiki>.


When discussing [[Viper (RDM)|Vipers]], use of either "Mark" or "Mk." is acceptable, though "mk." is just sloppy. Also, roman numerals are preferred. Thus, "Viper Mark II" or "Viper Mk. VII" but not "Viper mk. 2".
==== Images and Audio Content ====


==Verb Tense==
* Avoid burdening down a page with pictures. Use only pictures whenever necessary to illustrate the subject. Each picture must have a reason for use under the [[w:fair use|fair use]] clause of United States' copyright law. 
In almost every case, the present tense should be used when relating events occuring in an episode (e.g. Baltar shoots Crashdown in the back in order to save Cally's life). This is in line with the traditional style used to discuss literary works of fiction and the reasons it is employed for those kinds of articles entirely apply here.
* Image galleries are ''limited'' to unique pages, like articles on rooms of a ship (i.e. [[Combat Information Center]]) and pages on ships, like ''[[Galactica (RDM)|Galactica]]''.  
* Audio files should only be used for illustrative purposes where pictures fail to be illustrative (i.e. [[Case Orange]], [[Action stations]]) and for noteworthy quotes on episode guides.  


Exceptions can be made for articles dealing with historical events, where present tense can impede narrative flow. Typically, a historical event involves situations that occur prior to the [[Miniseries]]. "Flashback" scenes in episodes should be treated as historical events. "Thrace cried at Zak's funeral" is appropriate since this event occurs two years before the MiniSeries, although we see the event in a flashback scene in "[[Act of Contrition]]".
==== Categorization of Articles ====


==Links to Episodes==
* All pages, with the ''exception'' of [[/Disambiguations|disambiguation pages]], are to be categorized using our [[/Formatting#Category Rules|category system]].  
When referring to episodes in text, use quote marks. This helps keep them distinct from other text. This is especially useful for unwieldly episode name such as "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I]]".
** All articles should go into the [[:Category:A to Z|A to Z category]].
*Example: "In the episode "[[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]", ''Galactica'' finds ''[[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]''."
** Series related categories ([[:Category:TOS]], [[:Category:RDM]], and [[:Category:1980]]) are to be the ''last'' category in the category list on a page.
** Articles are ''never'' to be sorted by articles ("the", "and", "or") or by first names.
** The <tt><nowiki>{{DEFAULTSORT:}}</nowiki></tt> syntax is always to be used to declare a sort key for category listings.
*** In extreme circumstances, this may be overridden by declaring the sort key in the syntax of select categories, example of a category syntax from [[Battlestar Galactica (RDM)]]: <tt><nowiki>[[Category:RDM|*]]</nowiki></tt>. The "|*" allows the article to come ''before'' the alphabetical listings, so that it is the most visible.


When using an episode to cite a source, use parenthesis with no quotes. Citations go inside punctuation.
==== Linking to Episodes ====
*Example: "''Galactica'' finds ''Pegasus'' ([[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]])."


==Signing Your Work==
* When linking to episodes, always link the first instance of the episode name per section. Beyond that, do not overlink episode titles.
Don't. ''Battlestar Wiki'' is a collaboration of many writers. Be proud of your contributions, but do not take ownership of articles. Signatures will be removed without debate.
* As for how to refer to episodes within an article:
** When referring to episode titles as '''part of the sentence''', always include the episode name in quotation marks:
**: ''Example:'' "In the episode "[[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]", ''Galactica'' finds ''[[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]''."
** When citing a '''single'''  episode title '''as a source for a body of text''', use parentheses.
**: ''Example:'' "''Galactica'' finds ''Pegasus'' ([[TRS]]: "[[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]")."
** When citing '''multiple''' episode titles '''as a source for a body of text''', place all episode names ''within'' one set of parentheses. Each episode title should use commas to separate them within the parentheticals.
**: Example: Lee Adama is moody often ([[TRS]]: [[Miniseries]], "[[33]]", "[[Water]]", "[[The Hand of God]]").
** '''Major exception:''' The term [[Miniseries]] should ''never'' be placed in quotations, since this is not the technical name of the pilot. (The Re-imagined Series' pilot is simply called "Battlestar Galactica".)
** '''Second exception:''' When writing episode titles and book titles, the comma should ''always go '''after''''' the quotation mark, never before it.


==Images==
==== Red Links ====
All episode screenshots are copyright Universal Studios, and should be credited as such on image pages.


Images are desirable wherever their use is appropriate. Character pictures are currently being handled on the [[Battlestar Wiki:Characters]] project. Other articles needing images are listed at [[Battlestar Wiki:Requested Images]].
* Red links should either be corrected to point to the proper article on the intended subject, or submitted with the {{tl|requested}} tag.


==Quote of the Day==
=== Prose and Grammar ===
Quotes for the [[Quotes|Quote of the Day]] should all conform to this standard. In all cases, the naming conventions should agree with Character Names, above. The first occurances of all character and ship names within quotes should be linked. Pronouns (you, he, it) may be linked to clarify who or what the speaker is refering to. Linking of other words (jargon, etc.) is also left to a matter of discretion. All episode names should, of course, be linked.


For one-line quotes, the quote should appear first, enclosed in double-quotes with normal weighting and no italics (except to show emphasis). It should be followed with a hard line break (&lt;br/&gt;). This Wiki strives to be [http://validator.w3.org/ valid] [http://www.w3schools.com/xhtml/default.asp XHTML 1.0 Transitional], which means all tags, including br tags, must be closed. We don't want to break anything, now do we? The following line should begin with a double en-dash (--) followed directly by the rank or position of the character being quoted, then their name. These should be non-italics and normally weighted, as well. Finally, the episode name, in italics, should appear in parenthasis after a space.
{{mainarticle|Battlestar Wiki:Standards and Conventions/Prose}}


:"The line, in normal-weighted text, enclosed in double quotes."&lt;br/&gt;<br/>
==== Spelling and Numeric Notation ====
:--Rank and Name in Normal (''Episode Name'')
* American English spellings are default. British English spellings are allowed by users familiar with that language, but expected your edits to be converted into American English. (i.e. "colour" will be converted to "color", etc.)
* Numbers should use commas ( , ) to mark every three digits, and decimal points ( . ) to denote numbers with decimals.
* Numbers less than 13 should be spelled out, "five" for "5", etc.
** '''Example:''' Number Eight was revealed to be the last of the [[Significant Seven]].
* Any proper nouns with numbers should be written out without Arabic numerals, this includes ''[[Colonial One]]'' and ''[[The Twelve Colonies]]''.
** The exception to this are Vipers or Raptors identified by numerics, i.e. [[Viper 8757]] or [[Raptor 1]].
* Use an apostrophe-S ('s) for all possessives, unless the noun is plural.
** "Pegasus's fuel reserves are low." (singular possessive)
** "The Vipers' ammunition would not fire." (plural possessive)


This will end up looking thus:
==== Characters Names and Titles ====


:"Ladies and gentlemen, ''please''. Please. We are in a laboratory. There are hazardous chemical compounds everywhere. That--that's a thermo-nuclear bomb, for [[frak]]'s sake, so..."<br/>
* When first introducing a character, always introduce them by their '''first and last names'''.
:--Dr. [[Gaius Baltar]] (''[[Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down]]'')
* In text, characters should always be referred to by their last names.
** '''Exception:''' Characters sharing the same last name, like [[Saul Tigh]] and [[Ellen Tigh]], or [[William Adama]] and [[Lee Adama]], may be either be referred to by their first names, by rank and last name (if applicable), or - sparingly - with rank only (e.g. in an article from Lee Adama's point of view: "The Admiral tells Adama to...")
* Members of the [[Quorum of Twelve (RDM)|Quorum of Twelve]] should always be referred to as "delegates", not "representatives".
* Characters should not be referred to by their nicknames. For instance, when writing an article, William Adama should never be referred to as "the Old Man" or "Bill".
* For characters with both callsigns and proper names, like [[Apollo]]/[[Lee Adama]], [[Hot Dog]]/[[Brendan Costanza]] or [[Kat]]/[[Louanne Katraine]], generally refer to these characters by their last names. Using callsigns may be appropriate when dealing with pilots in the cockpit, however.


For quotes longer than one line, each utterance will appear on its own line. The speaker's rank or position and name should appear followed by a colon (:) first. All of this should be bold. The actual line follows, in normal weighted font, followed by a hard line break (&lt;br/&gt;). Subsequent utterences by the same speaker should begin simply with the character's name, as layed out in Character Names, above. After the final utterance of the quote, the episode name should appear in italics, prefaced by a double en-dash (--).
==== Ship Names ====


:'''Rank and Name 1:''' Humorous battle banter aimed at Speaker 2.&lt;br/&gt;<br/>
: '''''Rule of Thumb:''' If a ship has a name, like a person, then you do '''not''' use the word "the" before it. You wouldn't refer to the commander of ''Galactica'' as "the [[William Adama]]," now would you? So why would you call Adama's ship "the ''Galactica''" instead of ''Galactica''? The answer: you wouldn't—and you shouldn't—because it's '''wrong'''.''
:'''Rank and Name 2:''' Scathing insult.&lt;br/&gt;<br/>
:'''Name 1:''' Pithy retort.&lt;br/&gt;<br/>
:--''Episode Name''


For example:
* Ship names are '''proper nouns''', and therefore should be '''treated in the same manner'''.
* It is '''''incorrect''''' to use the definite article "the" before a ship name (''Galactica, Rising Star, Pegasus'', et al.), although many people in both writing and speaking make this grammatical error.
** '''Exception:''' The word "the" should only be used when describing the ship type ''before'' naming the vessel, i.e. "the [[battlestar (RDM)|battlestar]] ''[[Galactica (RDM)|Galactica]]''", "the civilian ship ''[[Scylla]]''."


:'''Captain [[Lee Adama]]:''' Hey, how about you, Boomer? [[Cottle|Doc]] tells me you're holding up better than anybody in the squadron.<br\>
==== Titles for episodes, movies, books and shows ====
:'''Lieutenant [[Sharon Valerii (Galactica copy)|Sharon Valerii]]:''' I'm tired, like everybody else.<br\>
:'''Adama:''' You never seem it.<br\>
:'''Lieutenant [[Kara Thrace]]:''' 'Cause she's a Cylon.<br\>
:'''Valerii:''' You're just gonna make me come over there and kick your ass, aren't you?<br\>
:--''[[33]]''


==Disambiguation==
* When citing a television episode, use quotations (i.e. "[[Valley of Darkness]]") most of the time. [[#Linking to Episodes|Click here for the exception.]]
Because the various Battlestar Galactica series re-use ships, character names, episode titles and other terminology, it is occasionally necessary to write articles covering the same thing in different continuities.
* When referring to a book by its name, use ''italics'' (i.e. ''[[Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion]]'').
* When referring to the television series itself, use ''italics'' (i.e. ''[[Battlestar Galactica]]'', ''[[Galactica 1980]]'').


When this is the case, an individual article should be used for each series. Articles should be namespaced according to the following schema:
==== Tense ====


*(TOS) - [[Battlestar Galactica (TOS)|Original series]]
* All articles that involve the fictional characters, events and places of the series are to be written in the present tense, ''unless'':
*(RDM) - [[Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|Re-imagined series]]
** The article occurs ''before'' the "Event Zero" of a continuity. "Event Zero" is defined by the following:
*(Video Game) - 2003 [[Video Game]]
*** For the Original Series, anything happening before the events depicted in "[[Saga of a Star World]]" should be written in ''past tense''.
*(1980) - [[Galactica 1980]]
*** For ''[[Galactica 1980]]'', anything happening before the events depicted in "[[Galactica Discovers Earth, Part I]]" should be written in ''past tense''. The only exception for this is "[[The Return of Starbuck]]", which is mostly a flashback episode, but most of the events should be written in the present tense.
*(SDS) - [[Battlestar Galactica (SDS)|Singer/DeSanto continuation]]
* As for the [[Re-imagined Series]], anything happening before the events depicted in the [[Miniseries]] should be written in the ''past tense''. However, this is where things get interesting:
*(SC) - [[Battlestar Galactica: The Second Coming|Richard Hatch's "Second Coming" attempt]]
** If an article is ''exclusively'' about ''[[Caprica (series)|Caprica]]'' (which occurs roughly 50 years before the Miniseries), then it should be written in ''present tense'', except for events from before the [[Caprica pilot|''Caprica'' pilot]]. The same applies for articles exclusively about the Re-imagined Series.
** If an article spans from ''Caprica'' to the Re-imagined Series, then:
**# Events occurring ''before'' the [[Miniseries]] (timeline-wise) should be written in the ''past tense''.
**# Events occurring ''during'' and ''after'' the Miniseries (timeline-wise) should be written in the ''present tense''.


The non-namespaced article should serve as a disambiguation page, pointing to the related articles.
==== About Signatures... ====


Examples of this in use are:
* Signatures are to be used '''exclusively''' on talk pages. If the title of the page you're editing '''does not''' have "talk" in its name, '''do not add your name or timestamp to it'''.
* [[Pegasus (TOS)]] vs. [[Pegasus (RDM)]] (disambiguation at [[Pegasus]])
** The only exceptions to this are: the [[Battlestar Wiki:Chiefs' noticeboard|Chiefs' noticeboard]], the [[Battlestar Wiki:Galactipedians Quorum]], the [[Battlestar Wiki:Think Tank|Think Tank]] and a [[BW:RFA|few]] [[BW:RFC|others]].
* [[Adama (TOS)]] vs. [[William Adama]] vs. [[Lee Adama]] (disambiguation at [[Adama]])
* In short, '''never sign articles'''!


Pages for characters that appear in more than one series should reserve the name in common for disambiguation (Cf. [[Adama]], [[Baltar]], etc.), but individual pages need not be tagged with the series name if there is sufficient information in the title otherwise so as to be disambiguous (Cf. [[Gaius Baltar]] vs. [[Baltar (TOS)]] or [[William Adama]] vs. [[Adama (TOS)]]).
=== Biographies on Cast, Crew, and People ===


==Questions Section==
{{mainarticle|Battlestar Wiki:Standards and Conventions/Biographies}}
Every episode-synopsis article includes a section called "Questions". The idea behind the section is, "These are the questions this episode raises and does not answer by itself." Since these pages are encyclopedic, it is not intended that the "Questions" section be used to actually speculate as to the answers! 


So, the rule of thumb should be:
* The lead sentence or paragraph introduces the reader to the subject matter. It includes, the person's full name, date of birth and death, nationality, role in the series' and other appearances that the person is notable for.
# If a question is raised and not answered in the episode, it belongs in the Questions section on the encylopedic page.
* The article's tense is determined by whether the subject is presently alive or deceased. If alive, everything is written in present tense; if deceased, everything is written in past tense.
# If a question is added to the encyclopedic page, and someone else realises it's actually answered '''in the same episode''', it might make sense to add the answer after the question, but it probably makes more sense to move both the question and the answer to the Talk page, because it isn't really an unanswered question. If it's an ambiguous or obscure item that keeps coming up (or seems likely to), then it might belong in "Analysis" or "Notes".
* Always refer to the subject by their last name.
# If a question is answered in a later episode, the analysis for that episode should note that the event hearkens back to an earlier open plot point, and perhaps the original page should be edited to point forward to the answer, but the answer itself should not be edited into the page for the episode that posed the question. An early example of this style appears on the encylopedia page for the episode "[[Water]]", "Why do the Cylons want to keep Helo on Caprica?".
* Articles of reasonable length should be sectioned off, and typically written in this order: '''Childhood, Early career, Work on ''Battlestar Galactica''''', and '''Later career.'''
# Debates and discussion have no place on the encylopedic pages; only on the talk pages. Encyclopedic pages should be neutral-point-of-view and descriptive. So if there's any dispute over whether a question belongs where it's been placed or how it's being handled, the whole thing should be moved over to the talk page and hashed out there.
* Articles with time sensitive information should be written with care. Always specify when the event is to occur, and never use vague words like "currently", "most recently", "presently", "this year" or "latest". Instead, use "as of [this date], such and such is to occur".


==Succession Boxes==
=== Episode Guides ===
Succession boxes, such as those for holders of a political office or a command position aboard a ship, should not be created unless at least two separate articles can be linked to using such a box.


[[es:Battlestar Wiki:Estándares y Convenios]]
{{mainarticle|Battlestar Wiki:Standards and Conventions/Episode Guides}}
 
* Should always be written in the present tense. Also, all parts of the episode page are to be sectioned, even the "overview" portion.
* The summary section, unless there are (at least) ''two'' distinct non-overlapping storylines, should always be in ''Act 1'', ''Act 2'', ''etc''. header formats. Bonus scenes should also in their own header.
* Episode guides should ''never'' argue with itself. Any "arguing" should be hashed out on the corresponding talk pages.
* When in doubt about any piece of content, '''always bring it up on a talk page.'''
 
==== Questions ====
 
* The questions section should be for questions that are ''raised by the episode, but not answered within said episode''.
* Questions that are answered in a subsequent episode should also have a link to said episode where that question is answered.
*: '''Example:''' Why do the Cylons want to keep [[Karl Agathon]] on [[Caprica (RDM)|Caprica]]?  ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II|Answer 1]], [[The Farm|Answer 2]])
* Questions '''should ''never''''' be debated on the episode guide page. Questions should always be questioned and discussed on the corresponding talk page.
 
==== Notes and Analysis ====
 
* Any questions that are raised, and subsequently answered within the same episode, are typically placed in the analysis section. Use of {{tl|inlineref}} is recommended, so that questions raised in previous episode guide articles can easily link to the specific analysis point.
* The different between "Notes" and "Analysis": notes are for information that require no further explanation or plausible speculation, whereas analysis is content that requires digging into the meat of the series and explaining contradictions, plot evolutions, and other content that requires critical thinking.
* Further, items under either or both "Notes" and "Analysis" should be sectioned off by topic.
** For example: Cylon related developments should be sectioned under "The Cylons", points about specific characters should be noted under a sub-section on that character, and analysis of major events (such as Gaius Baltar's trial) should be noted under that specific topic. This allows bullet points to be better ordered, and to avoid "jumping around" in the text.
 
=== Disambiguations ===
 
{{mainarticle|Battlestar Wiki:Standards and Conventions/Disambiguations}}
 
* Disambiguations are navigational aids that help direct people to articles on specific subjects that share the same names, since many of the ''Battlestar Galactica'' series use the same names. Disambiguations come in two forms: a page (such as [[Adama]]), and in the form of an acronym within parentheses tacked on an article name (such as [[Adama (TOS)]]).
* Disambiguations within parentheses are as follows:
**(TOS) - [[Battlestar Galactica (TOS)|Original Series]]
**(1980) - ''[[Galactica 1980]]''
**(RDM) - [[Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|Re-imagined Series]], ''[[Caprica (series)|Caprica]]'', and ''[[Blood and Chrome]]''
**(TRS) - Items relating exclusively to the [[Re-imagined Series]], and neither ''Caprica'' nor ''Blood and Chrome''.
**(CAP) - Items relating exclusively to ''Caprica''
**(BAC) - Items relating exclusively to ''Blood and Chrome''
**(2003 Video Game) - [[2003 Video Game]]
**(2007 Video Game) - [[2007 Video Game]]
**(SDS) - [[Battlestar Galactica (SDS)|Ill-fated Singer/DeSanto continuation project]]
**(TSC) - [[Battlestar Galactica: The Second Coming|Richard Hatch's "Second Coming" attempt]]
* To refer to either the 1978 series or the 2003 series within the body of an article, the proper nouns are acceptable: [[Original Series]] and [[Re-imagined Series]].
* Due to the popularity of the new series, as well as the volume of articles related to the Re-imagined Series, the use of the link <nowiki>[[Galactica]]</nowiki> will lead to the [[Galactica (RDM)]] article on the new series' battlestar. A disambiguation header always appears on this article for the two other ship articles on ''Galactica''. The same is true for [[Pegasus]].
* Disambiguation pages themselves have a unique format, consisting of:
*# An introductory sentence introducing that the following articles share the same name, with the disambiguated term '''boldfaced'''.
*# This is to be followed by one-sentence bullet points about each article that shares that name, ending in a full stop (i.e. a period).
*# If necessary, section off the bullet point lists by series or, failing that, by a unique classification.
*# After the bullet points are completed, the page is ended with the {{tl|disambig}} template.
*# Disambiguation pages '''are not categorized'''.
 
=== Quotes of the Day ===
 
{{mainarticle|Battlestar Wiki:Standards and Conventions/Quote of the Day}}
 
* [[BW:Q|Quotes of the Day]] have their own format, as well as their own namespace (named "Quotes"). Such as [[Quotes:09 17]], with the two digit month and date after the colon.
 
* Quotes that are one-line or one-paragraph in length should be formatted like so:
*: "Ladies and gentlemen, ''please''. Please. We are in a laboratory. There are hazardous chemical compounds everywhere. That--that's a thermo-nuclear bomb, for [[frak]]'s sake, so..."<br/>
*:--Dr. [[Gaius Baltar]] (''[[Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down]]'')
 
* Quotes that consist of two or more paragraphs of dialogue:
*:'''Captain [[Lee Adama]]:''' Hey, how about you, Boomer? [[Cottle|Doc]] tells me you're holding up better than anybody in the squadron.<br\>
*:'''Lieutenant [[Sharon Valerii (Galactica copy)|Sharon Valerii]]:''' I'm tired, like everybody else.<br\>
*:'''Adama:''' You never seem it.<br\>
*:'''Lieutenant [[Kara Thrace]]:''' 'Cause she's a Cylon.<br\>
*:'''Valerii:''' You're just gonna make me come over there and kick your ass, aren't you?<br\>
*:--''[[33]]''
 
* Each new line should have a <nowiki><br\></nowiki> tacked at the end, with the exception of the last line.
 
[[de:Battlestar Wiki:Standards und Konventionen]]
[[fr:Battlestar Wiki:Normes et conventions]]

Latest revision as of 02:02, 20 May 2020

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Battlestar Wiki's Standards and Conventions
Standards for...

Overview
... Page Formatting
... Article Prose and Grammar
... Cast and Crew Biographies
... Episode Guides
... Disambiguations
... Quote of the Day pages


Battlestar Wiki Policy
Article Standards

Article Standards & Conventions
Keeping articles concise
Assume good faith
Official sources and citations
Neutral or Real point of view
Spoiler Policy
What Battlestar Wiki is
What Battlestar Wiki is not
Avoiding "fanwanking"
Descriptive terms
"Alternate universe" products

Sysop ← Interaction → User

Page Moves
Username policy
Banning
Blocking
Check user

Site Wide

Deletion
Civility, etiquette and personal attacks
Edit war
Things you just don't do
Harassment
Ownership of articles
Vandalism
Words of wisdom for the paranoid
... is not a forum
News

Guidelines

Air Lock
High Traffic
Types of users
Canon
Fandom

Inactive Policies
Razor Material


This page serves as the central hub for standards used in writing articles on Battlestar Wiki. Discussion on new or established standards and conventions listed in this section should be discussed on the talk page.

This set of pages are not designed to supersede other projects or policies. Some overlap is expected, but project-specific standards and conventions should be moved to their project page, if one exists or a page created for a project, if one does not.

Overview[edit]

Here is an overview of the standards and conventions sections.

  • Page Formatting: This covers our preferences on Wiki syntax over HTML, in addition to how to format images and categories.
  • Article Prose and Grammar: Discusses our use of present tense for a majority of our articles, as well as how to properly format titles, using names vs. callsigns, etc.
  • Cast and Crew Biographies: Covers how to write and format a biographical article on cast, crew, and people involved with the various series.
  • Episode Guides: Tackles what an analysis and questions section of our episode guides should look like.
  • Disambiguations: Tackles why those pesky little "(TOS)" and "(RDM)" suffixes are added to article names, as well as how to properly format a disambiguation page.
  • Quote of the Day pages: Tackles how to properly format a quote page for the "Quote of the Day" feature.

Summary of Standards and Conventions[edit]

This is the Cliff Notes version of our Standards and Conventions guidelines for your convenience. While they are explained in more detail in the subpages, most people will not want to use their time reading through them (despite the fact that we've made them as concise as possible). Still, here we go...

Formatting[edit]

Main article: Battlestar Wiki:Standards and Conventions/Formatting

Markup[edit]

  • Always use Wiki code instead of HTML code, unless the Wiki code equivalent does not exist.
    • NEVER use: <b> for bold face, <i> for italics, <a href> for links, <img> for images.
    • Exception: There is presently no wiki code for underlining text, so one would use <u>text to be underlined</u>. Further, to center text on pages, you will have to use <div align="center">text to be centered</div>.

Images and Audio Content[edit]

  • Avoid burdening down a page with pictures. Use only pictures whenever necessary to illustrate the subject. Each picture must have a reason for use under the fair use clause of United States' copyright law.
  • Image galleries are limited to unique pages, like articles on rooms of a ship (i.e. Combat Information Center) and pages on ships, like Galactica.
  • Audio files should only be used for illustrative purposes where pictures fail to be illustrative (i.e. Case Orange, Action stations) and for noteworthy quotes on episode guides.

Categorization of Articles[edit]

  • All pages, with the exception of disambiguation pages, are to be categorized using our category system.
    • All articles should go into the A to Z category.
    • Series related categories (Category:TOS, Category:RDM, and Category:1980) are to be the last category in the category list on a page.
    • Articles are never to be sorted by articles ("the", "and", "or") or by first names.
    • The {{DEFAULTSORT:}} syntax is always to be used to declare a sort key for category listings.
      • In extreme circumstances, this may be overridden by declaring the sort key in the syntax of select categories, example of a category syntax from Battlestar Galactica (RDM): [[Category:RDM|*]]. The "|*" allows the article to come before the alphabetical listings, so that it is the most visible.

Linking to Episodes[edit]

  • When linking to episodes, always link the first instance of the episode name per section. Beyond that, do not overlink episode titles.
  • As for how to refer to episodes within an article:
    • When referring to episode titles as part of the sentence, always include the episode name in quotation marks:
      Example: "In the episode "Pegasus", Galactica finds Pegasus."
    • When citing a single episode title as a source for a body of text, use parentheses.
      Example: "Galactica finds Pegasus (TRS: "Pegasus")."
    • When citing multiple episode titles as a source for a body of text, place all episode names within one set of parentheses. Each episode title should use commas to separate them within the parentheticals.
      Example: Lee Adama is moody often (TRS: Miniseries, "33", "Water", "The Hand of God").
    • Major exception: The term Miniseries should never be placed in quotations, since this is not the technical name of the pilot. (The Re-imagined Series' pilot is simply called "Battlestar Galactica".)
    • Second exception: When writing episode titles and book titles, the comma should always go after the quotation mark, never before it.

Red Links[edit]

  • Red links should either be corrected to point to the proper article on the intended subject, or submitted with the {{requested}} tag.

Prose and Grammar[edit]

Main article: Battlestar Wiki:Standards and Conventions/Prose

Spelling and Numeric Notation[edit]

  • American English spellings are default. British English spellings are allowed by users familiar with that language, but expected your edits to be converted into American English. (i.e. "colour" will be converted to "color", etc.)
  • Numbers should use commas ( , ) to mark every three digits, and decimal points ( . ) to denote numbers with decimals.
  • Numbers less than 13 should be spelled out, "five" for "5", etc.
  • Any proper nouns with numbers should be written out without Arabic numerals, this includes Colonial One and The Twelve Colonies.
    • The exception to this are Vipers or Raptors identified by numerics, i.e. Viper 8757 or Raptor 1.
  • Use an apostrophe-S ('s) for all possessives, unless the noun is plural.
    • "Pegasus's fuel reserves are low." (singular possessive)
    • "The Vipers' ammunition would not fire." (plural possessive)

Characters Names and Titles[edit]

  • When first introducing a character, always introduce them by their first and last names.
  • In text, characters should always be referred to by their last names.
    • Exception: Characters sharing the same last name, like Saul Tigh and Ellen Tigh, or William Adama and Lee Adama, may be either be referred to by their first names, by rank and last name (if applicable), or - sparingly - with rank only (e.g. in an article from Lee Adama's point of view: "The Admiral tells Adama to...")
  • Members of the Quorum of Twelve should always be referred to as "delegates", not "representatives".
  • Characters should not be referred to by their nicknames. For instance, when writing an article, William Adama should never be referred to as "the Old Man" or "Bill".
  • For characters with both callsigns and proper names, like Apollo/Lee Adama, Hot Dog/Brendan Costanza or Kat/Louanne Katraine, generally refer to these characters by their last names. Using callsigns may be appropriate when dealing with pilots in the cockpit, however.

Ship Names[edit]

Rule of Thumb: If a ship has a name, like a person, then you do not use the word "the" before it. You wouldn't refer to the commander of Galactica as "the William Adama," now would you? So why would you call Adama's ship "the Galactica" instead of Galactica? The answer: you wouldn't—and you shouldn't—because it's wrong.
  • Ship names are proper nouns, and therefore should be treated in the same manner.
  • It is incorrect to use the definite article "the" before a ship name (Galactica, Rising Star, Pegasus, et al.), although many people in both writing and speaking make this grammatical error.
    • Exception: The word "the" should only be used when describing the ship type before naming the vessel, i.e. "the battlestar Galactica", "the civilian ship Scylla."

Titles for episodes, movies, books and shows[edit]

Tense[edit]

  • All articles that involve the fictional characters, events and places of the series are to be written in the present tense, unless:
    • The article occurs before the "Event Zero" of a continuity. "Event Zero" is defined by the following:
  • As for the Re-imagined Series, anything happening before the events depicted in the Miniseries should be written in the past tense. However, this is where things get interesting:
    • If an article is exclusively about Caprica (which occurs roughly 50 years before the Miniseries), then it should be written in present tense, except for events from before the Caprica pilot. The same applies for articles exclusively about the Re-imagined Series.
    • If an article spans from Caprica to the Re-imagined Series, then:
      1. Events occurring before the Miniseries (timeline-wise) should be written in the past tense.
      2. Events occurring during and after the Miniseries (timeline-wise) should be written in the present tense.

About Signatures...[edit]

Biographies on Cast, Crew, and People[edit]

Main article: Battlestar Wiki:Standards and Conventions/Biographies
  • The lead sentence or paragraph introduces the reader to the subject matter. It includes, the person's full name, date of birth and death, nationality, role in the series' and other appearances that the person is notable for.
  • The article's tense is determined by whether the subject is presently alive or deceased. If alive, everything is written in present tense; if deceased, everything is written in past tense.
  • Always refer to the subject by their last name.
  • Articles of reasonable length should be sectioned off, and typically written in this order: Childhood, Early career, Work on Battlestar Galactica, and Later career.
  • Articles with time sensitive information should be written with care. Always specify when the event is to occur, and never use vague words like "currently", "most recently", "presently", "this year" or "latest". Instead, use "as of [this date], such and such is to occur".

Episode Guides[edit]

Main article: Battlestar Wiki:Standards and Conventions/Episode Guides
  • Should always be written in the present tense. Also, all parts of the episode page are to be sectioned, even the "overview" portion.
  • The summary section, unless there are (at least) two distinct non-overlapping storylines, should always be in Act 1, Act 2, etc. header formats. Bonus scenes should also in their own header.
  • Episode guides should never argue with itself. Any "arguing" should be hashed out on the corresponding talk pages.
  • When in doubt about any piece of content, always bring it up on a talk page.

Questions[edit]

  • The questions section should be for questions that are raised by the episode, but not answered within said episode.
  • Questions that are answered in a subsequent episode should also have a link to said episode where that question is answered.
    Example: Why do the Cylons want to keep Karl Agathon on Caprica? (Answer 1, Answer 2)
  • Questions should never be debated on the episode guide page. Questions should always be questioned and discussed on the corresponding talk page.

Notes and Analysis[edit]

  • Any questions that are raised, and subsequently answered within the same episode, are typically placed in the analysis section. Use of {{inlineref}} is recommended, so that questions raised in previous episode guide articles can easily link to the specific analysis point.
  • The different between "Notes" and "Analysis": notes are for information that require no further explanation or plausible speculation, whereas analysis is content that requires digging into the meat of the series and explaining contradictions, plot evolutions, and other content that requires critical thinking.
  • Further, items under either or both "Notes" and "Analysis" should be sectioned off by topic.
    • For example: Cylon related developments should be sectioned under "The Cylons", points about specific characters should be noted under a sub-section on that character, and analysis of major events (such as Gaius Baltar's trial) should be noted under that specific topic. This allows bullet points to be better ordered, and to avoid "jumping around" in the text.

Disambiguations[edit]

Main article: Battlestar Wiki:Standards and Conventions/Disambiguations
  • Disambiguations are navigational aids that help direct people to articles on specific subjects that share the same names, since many of the Battlestar Galactica series use the same names. Disambiguations come in two forms: a page (such as Adama), and in the form of an acronym within parentheses tacked on an article name (such as Adama (TOS)).
  • Disambiguations within parentheses are as follows:
  • To refer to either the 1978 series or the 2003 series within the body of an article, the proper nouns are acceptable: Original Series and Re-imagined Series.
  • Due to the popularity of the new series, as well as the volume of articles related to the Re-imagined Series, the use of the link [[Galactica]] will lead to the Galactica (RDM) article on the new series' battlestar. A disambiguation header always appears on this article for the two other ship articles on Galactica. The same is true for Pegasus.
  • Disambiguation pages themselves have a unique format, consisting of:
    1. An introductory sentence introducing that the following articles share the same name, with the disambiguated term boldfaced.
    2. This is to be followed by one-sentence bullet points about each article that shares that name, ending in a full stop (i.e. a period).
    3. If necessary, section off the bullet point lists by series or, failing that, by a unique classification.
    4. After the bullet points are completed, the page is ended with the {{disambig}} template.
    5. Disambiguation pages are not categorized.

Quotes of the Day[edit]

Main article: Battlestar Wiki:Standards and Conventions/Quote of the Day
  • Quotes of the Day have their own format, as well as their own namespace (named "Quotes"). Such as Quotes:09 17, with the two digit month and date after the colon.
  • Quotes that are one-line or one-paragraph in length should be formatted like so:
    "Ladies and gentlemen, please. Please. We are in a laboratory. There are hazardous chemical compounds everywhere. That--that's a thermo-nuclear bomb, for frak's sake, so..."
    --Dr. Gaius Baltar (Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down)
  • Quotes that consist of two or more paragraphs of dialogue:
    Captain Lee Adama: Hey, how about you, Boomer? Doc tells me you're holding up better than anybody in the squadron.<br\>
    Lieutenant Sharon Valerii: I'm tired, like everybody else.<br\>
    Adama: You never seem it.<br\>
    Lieutenant Kara Thrace: 'Cause she's a Cylon.<br\>
    Valerii: You're just gonna make me come over there and kick your ass, aren't you?<br\>
    --33
  • Each new line should have a <br\> tacked at the end, with the exception of the last line.